“Have you never wondered where the lost go? Not just the dead, but those lost to hope, and lost to all that holds us to these tattered fragments of life? No, I see that you do not think on this. Neither do I, for I have seen that place, and know that to it I must go in time, as will we all.” Those were the very words Yuichi Ichinose used to sell himself to one of the investors whom he had chanced upon in the port city of Dunnstads through the city’s public bulletin board. It was something he had come up with on the spot after remembering the eerie forest where he had chosen to meet with Anabelle several days ago. Thankfully his ideas managed to elicit a response from the artificial intelligence that animated the quest-giver, a plump, richly-dressed merchant who seemed awestruck by Yuichi’s yarn that tugged at one’s sense of dread and curiosity at the same time. He continued. “There are dark places amidst the light of our civilized towns, cursed by some wrathful god beyond our mortal understanding; where the very void rejects the hand of man as it jealously guards its secrets that had been lost in the sands of time,” Yuichi spoke, elevating his tone and changing back to a soft whisper-like volume to add emphasis where it counted. “The unnamed world that hosts these cursed beings is one such place; it is a blighted void, with a few unholy sanctuaries circling an infernal central point where the darkest darkness congregates. Closer into the deep maw of this monstrous void is where unspeakable things lie, watching and waiting – patiently lurking beneath your nightmares within the solace of the oppressive blackness they consider home.” The merchant almost stood up from his seat, his eyes hypnotized by the words Yuichi weaved like fiendishly smooth silk on a cursed loom. He had him hooked; that he knew. If he managed to work this out properly, he would finally have something to do with his time that was worth the effort, even if he himself considered the task as nothing short of stupid. An Hour Ago… After his interesting meeting with a young Faerin who had allowed him some much-needed personal introspection in the light of another’s point of view, he had left the training hall so that he could find something else to preoccupy his time if only to get his mind off the things he had to unintentionally confront during the little tit-for-tat between himself and the other player-character. He had already purchased a pricey new weapon since then, but he needed something more. As he walked, he noted several banners and decorations already being put out on the streets – ghouls, ghosts, and goblins of every shape and size; the usual fare the pretty-boy’s real self often saw whenever the Halloween season would descend upon the world. He personally disliked the holiday and saw it as nothing more than a cash-grab, but just as he was about to ignore the sights altogether, a peculiar bulletin request caught his eye – Halloween fair construction, and one that paid handsomely, or so the brown paper flyer claimed. Yuichi checked his gold and frowned; only twenty-five gold pieces left – just enough to get the young man through a month of casual spending. Yuichi sighed. “Damnation,” he cursed under his breath, forcing himself to come to terms with the fact that he needed to take up the offer since that was the easiest to do with a staggeringly disproportional reward ratio for the amount and kind of work required. All he needed to do was to exercise his inherent creativity and serpentine tongue to be rewarded. Compared to traversing through muddy jungles and exploring cramped, dusty ruins for practically less than what this quest offered, it was just too good to resist. Hence, despite his personal apprehension towards the idea, Yuichi chose to apply himself to the task for practical reasons. Back To The Present… “Within this world of muffled screams and dark portents, a single sanctuary is found – if it could even be called that: a thin chain of wrecked cabins from a village that had succumbed to the curse; rotted cemeteries that held the restless souls of the damned in earthen shackles; rusted weapons and armor pieces of many a warrior, ignored and forgotten by a world that refused to tread the cursed lands; and, most strikingly, the moored vessels of a hundred different races, their origins forever lost to the miasma of grim omens that permeate the place.” Yuichi smirked, content that he had successfully glorified the description of a haunted house attraction in the real world. It certainly paid to have knowledge from a different dimension at hand, especially where such knowledge seemed much too fantastical to be deemed real. A certain degree of suspension of belief was required, and by the look on the merchant’s face, the pretty-boy only needed one more yarn to land. On the finale of his impromptu presentation, the young man went all out in terms of vocal flair, now complete with acting. “If the myriad docks of Dunnstands each launched a new vessel at the very same time, that vast fleet might approach the scope of the ruins that dot this cursed, infernal ocean where the currents of the fate have cast these uncounted thousands of sorry sods – perhaps for longer than any Yladian, Faerin, Felin, or Human have travelled the stars; perhaps for longer than any of these races have even existed. Ghosts and other mournful echoes of the long-dead follow the howling winds, bound to the land and the dust of their remains—” And now, the final pitch. “—and their mournful wails call for you to bring them the warmth of the living.” No other words needed to be said, the merchant now so engrossed with the idea of making such an infernal world real that he looked like he would readily sell his soul to Yuichi just for a glimpse of such terror made real. He smiled while shaking with fear, the terrible anxiety rattling his bones where even the chilling winds of the coming winter never could. Yuichi could not get the bag of gold from the other man’s hands fast enough. All that was left now was to find someone willing to work with him on this cursed project. Fortunately, he knew exactly who to call on.
One of the benefits of having someone added in one's friend list was that it stated if one's friend was online and his or her location, or at least their general location, as in whether they were in Yladia, Falderen, or Astorea. However, when it comes to using the feature to stalk someone, it barely gave information that one had to scour one of the said continents by randomly picking up a specific location and wished it was the right place. This was where being a Felin became handy. With their powerful cat-like senses, all that a beast-kin had to do was to walk a little while sniffing the air, figuring out if the particular scent they were looking for was in the air. This was what the Felin, Anabelle Zhang, had been doing for some time now in order to look for a particular human. Ever since the day she was violated back in Druuk Island, the beast-kin never wanted to be by herself. This has led to a form of attachment, if one could call it that way, to Yuichi Ichinose. His actions after the ordeal gave the feline lady an idea that she would be much safer if she was around him, and being alone, or being without him, she would always be in danger. Checking if he was online, going to the same vicinity where he was even without him knowing, and logging off whenever he was not around became a habit. And, it was not going to change any time soon. Like today. Several times she had logged in Terrasphere only to log out because he was not around. When he finally arrived, she started to look for him around Falderen. After checking several maps, her senses brought her to Dunnstads, but she was not able to see where he exactly was. She had been circling around the vicinity of a particular training hall building as her nose was telling her he was just somewhere near. It took a while before she realized he could be inside, which caused her to wait for him even if it took a while. After a few hours, from her hiding which was behind a live hedge which was a part of the garden outside the edifice, she saw him leave the premises. She followed him, keeping a safe distance, avoiding to make a noise (which was hard, since she had to keep her excited purr at low), and disregarding the colorful yet spooky banners that graced the area. Like the event mattered... Anabelle was not really fond of Halloween, so her lack of appreciation to the ornaments might be because of that or her pre-occupation and fixation to the pretty boy. Anabelle found herself behind oaken barrels a few meters away from him in one of the oddest placed to meet an investor in Dunnstads. From her hiding, she could hear his voice. Even if it was incomprehensible, it gave some sense of security. The pounding of her heart stopped, and the worries seemed to be carried away by his soothing voice. Purrrrrrrrrr. Stop! He might hear your purr! In the middle of this argument with herself, a message popped-out of her screen, along with a loud 'ding' that ringed in her ears. It was from Yuichi. It had a photo of a famous celebrity in a quite a seducing pose with captions 'You Got Those Big Tits Come Here'. In that instant, her arms were crossed in front of her bosom. "What's the problem with my breasts?" she asked herself. To her, the pair caused her problems other than having heavy bags bouncing around when running, but he did not need to know that. Thus, she sent him the following reply: Mail Wait, what? Do you have issues with my tits? I mean, it isn't my fault my chest are blessed. From: @Anabelle Zhang
Yuichi stood absolutely still when he got an almost instantaneous reply from the Felin, seeming to not even breathe for a long while as he replied to her message in kind. True to his own reply, Yuichi’s hand slowly drifted from his waist to his forehead, a sigh of chagrin following soon after the act. He said nothing at first, as if struggling to find a suitable answer to a question nobody had asked. Then, with a calm and steady gait, Yuichi proceeded to a nearby stack of oaken barrels and heaved over the heavy gold bag over the top. If his calculations were right, it would hit Anabelle squarely on top her head, almost as if he himself were giving a hefty chop to chastise the beast-kin for even trying to hide her presence from him. In the days that followed their first meeting in the shores of Druuk Beach, Yuichi had noticed Anabelle begin following him almost every time he had logged into the game to play. He was confused as to why she would even bother to do such a thing when she could just approach him, although true to his trait, the prince of tactlessness simply assumed that she was trying to get revenge on him for what had happened in the Crystallized Zalra and their impromptu Duel meant to serve as a means to train the Felin in the arts of combat when at a disadvantage. He figured that she was simply finding the right opportunity to strike, and when that time came, she would take it. There was just one small problem though – Anabelle had no Mastery in Rogue while Yuichi himself was Proficient in it. As the days passed without incident, the pretty-boy simply decided to ignore the incidents of stalking thinking that the same was for training the beast-kin in the subtle arts of the shadow. Sometimes he would intentionally let his guard down to see if the young woman would take it, or finally show herself and deal a mock-deathblow against her intended target. However, as time passed, it became more apparent that Anabelle was not even trying anymore as she continued to hide in the shadows without ever breaking out for the kill. Yuichi could only shrug in disappointment at the lack of predatory instincts in the other player-character, despite the fact that it was she and those of her specific race who would have benefited more from hiding in plain sight. The martial artist heard the gold bag hit the ground with a loud thump, assuming that it had bounced off the beast-kin’s head as was his intention. He figured Anabelle would probably hate him for doing such a trick, but Yuichi already beat her to the punch and called her out on her antics first in order to justify his corporal punishment. “You think you could hide from me, you scamp?!” the young man exclaimed, annoyance in his voice. “Do you honestly think that someone who is Proficient in Rogue would be fooled by your sneaking in the shadows? Oh please, you might as well have painted a bull’s eye on yourself – you were so loud that even the dead could have heard your heavy footsteps from their graves!” he mocked. “Are those giant breasts of yours too heavy for you to sneak around in? Well, are they?” Despite his confrontational tone, the young man readied himself for immediate retaliation, if such was the case. He had no idea what other reason Anabelle had to follow him everywhere he went other than training, and if that was the case, he was more than happy to play the strict teacher and goad her into action.
It didn't take a while before Anabelle received a reply from Yuichi, and as expected it did not bear any words. It has been a while since the two of them were exchanging messages through the private mailbox, and never did once the brawler entered any word. He replied through memes and images. This time, it showed a cartoon image of another human having his hand on his forehead, which did not answer any of feline's questions. "What does that suppose to mean?!" she exclaimed, albeit in a hushed tone making sure it was only herself who could hear it. She brought out the virtual keyboard and with her fingers started to tap the keys when suddenly, something hit the Felin's head. At that instant, a blanket of all the colors of the rainbow sprinkled with stars filled her vision as pain surged from her head down to her body. Loud clinking and clattering followed as a bag hit the ground. It was followed by the roaring of a familiar baritone voice, chastising her for hiding from him. Color flushed out of Anabelle's visage when it dawned to her that all these time he knew she was following him, but she quickly recovered from it the same way she lost it. From her crouched position, the blonde stood up with her hand on top of her head, brushing what could be a bump. "What was that for?!" she hissed. "W-what do you mean hiding from you? It's just a coincidence I am here!" Of course, it was a lie. She had been following him for days. "What do you want? And what is your issue with my breasts? My breasts aren't doing anything against you!" The last part was another lie; she knew it caused them both trouble as her figure was one of the reasons why she was violated. There was irritation in her tone. Of course there would be, who would not be irritated if someone dropped a whole bag of gold on your head? Her hands found their way from her head down to her chest, covering it up when it was all unnecessary since aside from she was wearing clothes, Yuichi had already seen her entirety, back in Druuk Island when they shared some time in Monokage. It was, indeed, in reality an unnecessary action, but Anabelle thought she would divert his attention out of her breasts if it truly has been bothering him.
A trained hand, skilled in the art of Body Combat, swiftly responded to the Felin’s off-hand inquiry about her bust size by delivering punishment in the form of a painful poke against the prodigious breast of the well-endowed beast-kin. “Oh, come on, spare me the excuses, you titty monster,” he snapped as he walked back to the rear of the stacked oaken barrels to collect the bag of money they would be using for the building of the upcoming attraction. The gold coins that jingled within the heavy bag told the young martial artist everything he needed to know, except for one simple mystery he had been having trouble with for quite a while now. Thankfully, the one responsible for such the confusion now stood before him in an impromptu trial. “I know you were the one hiding behind that lamp post last week, and the one hiding in that trash can the other day, and the one prowling on the roof of the training hall I was in a few hours ago, and same one hiding underneath the table while I was eating at the Stone Fist Bar,” revealed Yuichi now coming out with fund now in hand, but face still a stern expression of a disciplinarian. “You had all the chances in the world to take me out with a well-planned assassination, but you choose to hide – why? Because you are a coward who has yet to develop any cold-hearted determination to drown out your fears, that is why.” To be frank, it was actually Yuichi who was seeing things differently at that point due to his dense personality that refused to read between the lines where he found no benefit thereto, although Anabelle might consider the same a blessing in disguise. After all, if he actually had the ability to take the ‘training exercise’ as something more than that, it would be much harder for Anabelle to explain. She would have to thank her lucky stars that Yuichi was oblivious of such things, but at the same time, maybe pity the clueless, no-nonsense businessman for not even having those kinds of memories to tell stories on. Either way, Yuichi’s chagrin did not last long since he knew that he had more important things to do that interrogate the young woman for answers she would not readily give out. The martial artist shook his head and sighed. “Whatever,” he said and began to explain his plan to his chosen quest partner. “In any case, it is good to know that you are here since the reason why I called you all the way out to this neck of the ocean is simple – I want you to help me design a mansion for this Halloween thing,” he said as if doing so was the easiest thing in the world to do. “We need it to be a decrepit and rundown version of those fancy villas the nobles live in, so we just need to follow the basics of architecture to do it. We can leave the actual building to the NPCs; the design should be ours – well, mine since I doubt a bubble-head like you could think of something terrifying even if your life depended on it—” Yuichi smirked and pointed towards the hazed, almost drug-addled look of the plump merchant sitting slack-jawed and dumb behind him. “—or you could prove me wrong and pitch something even better than the one I already had in mind.” A snicker escaped the pretty-boy's lips, confident of his own idea of building a haunted mansion to compared to whatever Anabelle had brewing in her brain. “So yeah, haunted mansion experience, with a very dark twist. So, are you up for it?”
"Ah! He knew all of it!" mentally exclaimed the young woman while groping her own painful chest. It was given she would fail in this stalking thing as she did not have any mastery for it, but she never expected it would be this early and this easy for him. But what made the young woman drop her jaw in disbelief was Yuichi's interpretation of her stalking. It was nothing, and never, like anything he said. It was never about treating him as a prey and pounce on him when the time is right. What was more, she got insulted for it. With her eyes widened, Anabelle interrupted Yuichi in a high-pitched tone, "excuse me?! I am not a coward and I am totally not following you to surprise attack you! Have you forgotten that all these time you were in safe places that to attack you I should send you a duel request? You never were in a PK area, dumbo!" "Whatever", Yuichi began as he changed the topic just when Anabelle wanted to explain to him the truth. But sure, if that was what the pretty boy wanted, Anabelle would give in and drop the issue. It was revealed to her that Yuichi want her to help him design a mansion for a Halloween event. The mere utterance of the word Halloween gave the Felin a shiver down her spine. Was he really serious? Of all people, he would ask Anabelle to do something for an occasion she never liked. Was he trolling her? Other than that, Yuichi exhibited no imagination as he suggested such a basic thing, thinking it was the grandest of all spooky schemes ever made. "Seriously?" Anabelle asked with her thick Korean accent, "you think that's big enough? Even the crappiest fair has a haunted mansion. Can't you think of anything more clever and grandiose than that?" As if she got anything in mind other than --- "A haunted village attraction. But it is too big to build. I don't know, I just think a haunted mansion is too..plain and basic. At least a haunted village with a Breakout™ or escape the room thing going on can be a little bit exciting." Finding her arms on her hips she began to think if it would even be plausible. She gazed at Yuichi, then to the chubby man dazed at his seat, then back to Yuichi. "I'm not good with 'speeches', especially in English. Besides, what if he molests me? You do the talking."
Upon hearing Anabelle’s proposition to create an entire village attraction within a short span of time, a lightbulb flickered inside Yuichi’s head. He silently cursed himself for not having come up of the idea before, but now that it was suggested by his partner, he could not deny that the idea itself was spectacular to which his own limited view paled in comparison like comparing a child’s meager doodles to an entire painting made by Rembrandt, Michelangelo, or van Gogh. The young man had to admit, albeit begrudgingly, that the Felin knew what she was talking about – at least, as far as faire attractions were involved. A trivial matter, to be sure, but the overachiever still felt uneasy that someone else was leagues better than him at something, no matter how unimportant that ‘something’ might be. He shrugged at the thought that she was astronomically more capable of anything else; he already had enough of being shown up so blatantly, especially using his own idea to do so. It was like killing a man with his own weapon – a humiliation Yuichi normally reserved for his most hated rivals. Now he got a taste of his own medicine and, quite frankly, he was insulted and impressed, in his own special way. “Damnation,” he cursed, “that idea does, indeed, sound better than what I had. As much as it pains me to say, it is also a godsend to have you here, Annie. Looks like I would not have to use you for slave labor after all; your insight into this useless holiday is, admittedly, far greater than mine.” Satisfied that he had succeeded in forcing the comment out his mouth without choking on the words, Yuichi now began to run his idea by his screener to see if it is up to snuff. As he did, he walked toward the exit expecting the beast-kin to follow close behind him, his mannerisms even demanding that she do so without a single word of command being uttered. He was the boss in real life, after all; and as far as this project was concerned, he was still in charge. “So this is what I think our attraction should be—" A While Later… Chapter 1: The Cursed Mansion Rises The Krähestein Hotel in Bremerhaven looked like any post-war structure that was built at a time where a nation was still recovering from the dark days of war. A large fifteen-story structure designed in the imposing manner unique to the German approach architecture, the five-star luxury hotel looked more like a medieval castle in the center of a bustling metropolis whose neon lights and rhythmic sounds were dampened by the thick granite walls from which the building was built from. Grandiose spires fenced in the construction on the four cardinal directions while the large hanging gargoyles which were sculpted and incorporated into the structures themselves were still as daunting as they were when they were first built decades ago, as were the lavishly-designed flying buttresses adorned with spiked cruciform symbols which supported these gargantuan edifices and connected them to the main building. Upon entering Krähestein’s inner premises, one would immediately take notice of the fifteen-step stone staircase which led up to a pointed arch with a large stone lion head at the apex, its maw wide and agape as if ready to lunge at anyone who wished to enter. Once inside the glass doors of the hotel, a guest would be greeted with the high vaulted ceilings supported by marble columns, smoothened to a mirror-like sheen, from which hung the lamps that gave the interior the soft orange glow of its signature candlelit atmosphere. On any normal business day, its lobby would normally be filled with the chatter of hotel patrons who would be dining in the open-room buffet with the near-endless cacophony of strolling wheels from baggage carts and the clatter of shoes, but on this occasion, Krähestein’s majestic atmosphere only shone down upon the presence of seven individuals who, while dressed just like any of the hotel’s usual high-brow elite, held within their hands various occult items from pendulums to charms. Professional occultists and paranormal investigators, gathered together to investigate the supposed mysteries hidden inside the silent stone walls of the old hotel. While the obviously professional occultists set up their various modes and methods, the 29-year old CEO simply took up a more comfortable position on his bed inside the St. Regis while he became engrossed in the strange, but incredibly curious proceedings shown on his flat screen television that began with calling out spirits from the great beyond. He looked at the giant suspended clock in the middle of the room before continuing with his current viewing pleasure – a hefty gold-plated double-sided analogue much like the ones in the various metro stations scattered across the city which told him that it was already three o’clock in the morning – three hours past the witching hour. It elicited a fear in him of immaterial things that raised the hairs on the back of his neck. That feeling was what he sought to convey to Anabelle. “So what do you think?” he asked, awaiting for her to pass the idea or revise it. “We stick to the mansion, but instead of a village, we incorporate the idea into areas of the mansion. That way, we can restrict the area to a place we can fully control, without any means of escape, except for maybe the one at the end of a terrifying ordeal. That sounds better than a village where one would have free range of motion, right?” He gestured towards the vast expanse of land where their attraction would be built upon. "A large place, but made small by one structure, divided into certain areas with their own terrifying surprises."
Talking about plans of scaring the hell out of people through a Halloween fair wasn't actually best discussed amidst passersby, traders shouting on top of their lungs, and barely-clothed men carrying tons of items on their backs to and fro ships. Aside from that, the heat of the sun with the saltiness of the winds coming from the sea wasn't good to the skin; even if it was all virtual one could still feel how it easily dries it up. Hence, the discussion continued as they headed to the closest place from their location where they could talk better, away from potential eavesdropping. It happened to be a cheap beer bar. Its interiors had a rustic feeling, thanks to the wooden walls with mesh and anchors used as decorations, the materials of which were closely similar to those used in and by ships. Huge crates were repurposed as tables, while the smaller ones as chairs. Behind the bar could be seen eighteen beer faucets propped on the wall. With these, the scrawny guy in a black-and-white ensemble, who appeared to be underaged to drink or enter any bar, would fill the tall mugs and glasses with craft beer. Upon entering the premises, the Felis immediately asked for the most unexpected thing one would least expect to see in a beer bar: paper and pencil. One of the servers, another underaged-looking boy with ashen hair and a pale complexion as if the sun has not graced his skin for months, managed to find what the Felis was looking for and gave it to her as she and the Human brawler sat in one corner of the bar. Anabelle listened and stared intently at Yuichi, taking note of his chocolate-colored orbs as he spoke. He imparted a vision of a grand mansion, but never really had the idea that it was actually a hotel featured on TV. Christianna was not really fond of watching TV. Nevertheless, she was actually able to translate his words into an image, as she allowed her hand to sketch while he talked. By the time she thought Yuichi was done describing the place, Anabelle withdrew her oddly-colored pools from him and concentrated on what her hand has come up. She used the other end of the pencil to erase errors, the lead tip to darken and highlight some parts. “So what do you think?” Yuichi asked, “We stick to the mansion, but instead of a village, we incorporate the idea into areas of the mansion. That way, we can restrict the area to a place we can fully control, without any means of escape, except for maybe the one at the end of a terrifying ordeal. That sounds better than a village where one would have free range of motion, right? A large place, but made small by one structure, divided into certain areas with their own terrifying surprises." But the Felin did not respond, at least immediately. It took a few seconds before she was able to process what was said as her eyes and hands were busy perfecting the image relayed to her. Once satisfied, she handed over the papers to Yuichi to show sketches of how he described the mansion. One paper was the facade, the other was the interior of the mansion. "Is that how it looked like?" asked Anabelle "if so, it's neat.". She stretched a bit before placing the pencil on the crate table and waited for his response. It was also impliedly stating that she was agreeing to the idea. Thereafter, the same server who gave the paper and pencil came to their table as he thought Anabelle stretching was a sign of them ready to give their orders.
A nod of affirmation was what greeted Anabelle upon presenting a rough sketch of her idea, so much so that Yuichi slammed five gold coins onto the table to pay for their meal even before anything had been ordered. Nevertheless, five pieces were already more than enough to buy the most expensive meal on the menu times over, so when the fighter declared that he would be treating the Felin to a meal, she did not give her any choice. “Well done conveying my ideas,” he praised, “but we still have to put that into action. For that, we need food and drink, so go on ahead, Annie – my treat,” he said with a tone brimming with confidence. It was readily apparent that Yuichi was fired up for implementing his idea; a flicker of his real self, the very same one who drove the Kazuhara Group’s stock prices up, whenever he applied himself to an endeavor. Despite the fact that he disliked Halloween, Takeo’s afterburners lit up when it came to putting his ideas forth to turn them into a material thing. A kid in a candy store, as some would describe his zeal; yet it was part of the reason for the astronomical leaps in medical manufacturing that was spearheaded by none other than Takeo’s company. “Eat, drink, and be merry, Annie; nobody is going to get any sleep in the days to come!” Hours Later… The early morning of the following day dawned bright and cold, enough to chill the bone and raise the hairs on one’s skin. A thin layer of frost covered the ground to remind one of the winter that was to come and the looming event that heralded the countdown towards Christmas Eve. Yuichi’s pale skin became whiter under the moonlight, and the dark circles around his virtual eyes exemplified his obsessive need to oversee every step of the haunted house as if he were the one making it instead of the dozens of NPC characters he had employed by virtue of his sponsor’s money. They worked feverishly through the night into the morning sun, with the lead engineer looking upon their work with detailed scrutiny. Yuichi always had a comment, a suggestion, and an idea, and the workers simply did it without complaint. One could easily tell that the young fighter-turned-foreman enjoyed his job very much for not even the biting cold and the beads of sweat that trickled down his face marred the beaming smile he had plastered on his face. He was not even shy of participating along with the workers when it called for it, which only added positive rapport on his work ethic despite his overly demanding persona while on-site. They were still just building the foundation of the mansion to be sure – a simple twenty-foot hole that was to be filled with support beams, load-bearing columns, and joists to host a hidden basement for the attraction, but not a single spot went unfilled or blocked up without Yuichi’s go-ahead. In the midst of his feverish work, the young man temporarily snapped out of his trance to look for Anabelle. Ever since he had started busying himself with the workers and how he would like them to build up to his exact specifications, the young man had rarely seen the Felin. He knew she was supposed to be the idea-lady meant to screen his decisions to fit a more specific audience, but that did not mean that she could slack off when he was not looking. He sighed in exasperation, assuming that the beast-kin had adhered to her character’s race and found an unfinished floor board somewhere to sleep under. Cats were quite lazy when left alone, but Yuichi had no intention of letting any kitties rest that night – not when the most crucial part of the structure was being built. “Annie! Annie, where are you?!” called out Yuichi, his voice somewhat more candid and human than his usual mechanical mien. “Seriously, Annie; if I catch you dozing off while you are on the clock, I swear to God I will throw you into the sea to wake you up, you lazy bum! Now answer me and get your titties out and up-front NOW!” The commanding tone in the brawler’s voice would allow Anabelle to easily tell that Yuichi was serious about throwing her into the ocean should she choose not to comply. After all, if he was willing to stay up with the workers into the wee hours of the morning in order to quickly and efficiently accomplish a goal he had set for himself for a project, then by implication – as far as he was concerned, anyway – Anabelle should be up for burning the midnight oil as well. She was the one he chose for a project partner, after all, and he would be sorely disappointed if he were to see her not take up the same uncompromising work ethic that he was willing to put out, even if he did not like the project to begin with. Still, he knew he should be considerate; she was just a normal person, after all. Strangely, it just so happened that this was how he showed it. “Annie, you better be here when I count to ten!”
Setting up the mansion commenced immediately, and when it was said 'immediately' that meant right after partaking their sumptuous meal in the bar, Yuichi started contracting NPCs that would help them build the attraction since the two of them alone were not enough brawn to carry heavy steel pipes, blocks, logs, and cement. While the brawler started to assume the role of a foreman and busied himself instructing the men, sometimes helping them doing the grunt work himself, Anabelle took the time to do more sketches of how the interiors in each room would look like while staying in a cheap three-star hotel facing the open area near the port where the construction took place. From the window of her room, she had seen how the NPCs worked hard for Yuichi. She also drew a faint smile and got amused whenever she would notice the pretty boy get his hands dirty. The Felis had a hunch that he was someone who was not used to groundwork, as he appeared to be, and once mentioned that, he was a big shot in the city in real life, hence the amusement. She found herself engrossed at watching the human from a distance that as a break from the hard work of thinking what to add to the construction, she would unwittingly draw images of him based on what she could see from the window. There was one full paper sketch where Yuichi was carrying different items over his shoulder, sweat on his forehead, with details of his every muscle seen on the sketch. There was also another one where he was pointing at a direction while holding a paper, probably one of the sketches of the mansion's exterior submitted by the Felin to the Human. These images were the ones she would keep on her desk and hopefully never to be seen by the fighter-turned-foreman. She had no idea why she did not want Yuichi to see them, but she would not wallow on such trivial thing right now. When her hands were already aching, the blonde would leave the hotel room momentarily to join the NPCs out in the cold weather, making sure none of them were hurt, and if someone was indeed in pain due to some reason, she never hesitated to use her healing skills. Even if she felt detached to everyone due to the experience she had with Conrad Carlson, she tried her best not to let it show and be as endearing as she could be. She was also the one who would bring food and beverages to them to make sure they were nourished to fulfill every task the brown-haired boss wanted them to do. They might be AIs following a series of codes and instructions, but they were still of flesh and blood, experiencing exhaustion and hunger. Anabelle hoped that this actions would add an impact, making none of them leave their posts despite working almost the whole day. Anabelle actually woke up early the following day, as she knew Yuichi would be busy again the whole day she would not be able to present to him the ideas if she would come in late. Actually, Anabelle barely had sleep because she was revising her ideas, hoping they would not sound dumb to the perfectionist within the brawler. She came up with thirteen pages of different interior designs, which she neatly placed in a folder procured from one of the staffs of the hotel. After prepping up, which involved foregoing the pink off-shoulder midriff top in favor of a boyfriend-styled white button-down long-sleeved shirt, Anabelle checked the window to see Yuichi was already on the site. Affirmative. Seeing him made her chest pound fast in excitement. A wide beam could be gleaned on her visage. Yuichi was there, and she could hear him shout something but she could not comprehend what it was. She stormed out of the room, dashed the halls, and ran down the wooden staircase. The empty lobby greeted the Felis. There, she hurriedly stormed out of the front door only to stop halfway ---- "I forgot the papers in the room!" Giving her head a light thwack, she turned on her heel and was about to dash towards the staircase when a familiar image appeared a few feet away from her. There was a group of men going down the stairs, but one of them stood out. The person was a burly tanned-skinned man, the light-blue fitted shirt he was wearing only emphasized every inch of his muscles. He had grayish hair, with his sideburns thick and long enough to reach his trimmed beard. And, he was emerging out of the last few steps of the staircase. His eyes were fixated at Anabelle; a smile was etched on his face as he took steps towards her. At that instance, Anabelle's head went all blank. She was gazing at him as her whole body froze and trembled. Her throat became dry. The excitement on her chest was replaced by an indescribable fear that paralyzed her whole body. She felt like crying, but none of her tears were ready to drop. Color left her countenance. The other men with him walked past Anabelle, but Conrad Carlson took a few seconds to meet her face to face. "My, my, look who's here," he said. His calloused hand shot up and caressed Anabelle's cold cheek. "Sorry dear, not today. But I'll leave you with something~" The same hand suddenly landed on her chest, groping it as he drew himself close to the Felis and licked her earlobe. She shuddered and felt powerless to voluntarily do anything. Her knees melted; she dropped on the floor startled. Images of what happened in Druuk Island flashed in her memory like an awful montage. Tears finally rolled down her eyes as she whimpered in unbearable pain. "No need to be sad now, my little Felis, we'll meet again~" Then, Conrad Carlson walked out of the hotel where outside his gang was waiting for him. He was positioned in the center, the other guys as hulking as he was around him, and they walked towards the port to ride a ship which was about to leave.
Almost ten minutes had passed since his initial call, but despite his words, it seemed that Yuichi did indeed give Anabelle quite enough time to settle whatever it was that held her attention. That she did not appear before him in that span of time told him two things: first, that the Felin was in trouble and needed help; or second, that she had fully dozed off into the realm of dreams. He doubted Dunnstads, a safe zone, and a place filled with people hard at work for the upcoming faire, would be a magnet for strange dangers from beyond – at least not yet. That only left the second theory as plausible, and knowing Anabelle for as long as he had now, he did not doubt that the lazy bum was wiling away the hours asleep on some comfy bed. He cursed the Felin for what he assumed she was doing. Having called for a break to ensure that everything was going on smoothly, Yuichi grunted expletives under his breath and stormed into the hotel where she was staying, thumping his feet and visibly upset about his partner’s slow response. He did not bother to waste time and money with such trivial luxuries when he was already so engrossed in work to care about fatigue. He was already sleeping in the real world anyway, and if he also slept in the game world, Takeo would feel like a double slacker. He might be considered a slave-driver for sure, but anyone would not argue that he treated his workers fairly and without discrimination. “Annie! I gave you ten whole minutes to respond; come out of your bed, you rotten scamp!” shouted the rage-filled young man as soon as he walked into Anabelle’s hotel. However, instead of becoming even more angry, he was thrown into confusion at the sight of a distraught Felin on the floor of the hotel lobby, shaking like a leaf as if she had seen something so horrible that it hurt her very core. It reminded him of that day in Druuk Beach where his world fell apart along with Anabelle’s dignity; his very first friend hurt and destroyed while he failed to live up to the tenets of friendship that he believed in. Hence, there was only one possible conclusion that Yuichi could reach given the circumstances – Carlson was here, and he paid a little visit to the woman he dominated. Yuichi’s once thunderous steps became a slow and steady gait, the shallow annoyance turning into a deep-seated rage that could allow anyone to perform acts so diabolical and inhuman that any sane person would doubt that a human being would be capable of such acts of barbarity. That was the bottomless depth of the young fighter’s rage – a black void filled with oppressive darkness that sought nothing but to drown Conrad Carlson and his ilk beneath their unfathomable deeps. Thus, by the time he had reached the traumatized Felin, he only had one question to ask her— —“Where is he?” he asked coldly. “Where is Conrad Carlson?”
The intense trembling began to dwindle once Anabelle felt the presence of the brown-haired Human; his voice was able to snap her out of being trapped in her world of nightmare built by collages of images and recurring memories of that fateful day in Druuk Island. She pulled her head up to gaze at the brawler, whose rage seeped out of his cold stare. Tears kept on rolling down to her cheeks; they were like rain falling from the sky. Curled in a fetal position on the floor, the blonde Felis extended her arm and gripped onto the hem of his blue dragon-ornated training pants as if begging to be saved whilst her free-hand tightly clutched the portion which Conrad Carlson fondled. The latter gesture could be a clue as to how the second meeting with her offender went --- another harassment. "Where is he?" asked he, "Where is Conrad Carlson?" The lady attempted to speak, opening her lips to utter a word but not even a squeal would come out. Thus to answer the query, the free-hand on her chest moved and raised slowly, a digit extended to a direction past Yuichi, pointing to where Anabelle last had a glimpse of him --- --- Towards the port. Before he could do anything, Anabelle tightened her grip on his hem. She pulled herself closer to him, before wrapping her arms around his left leg. She was shaking her head while looking up at him; her eyes beseeched for him not to leave her again. She pleaded for him not to make her feel alone again because one more of this and she would totally break. Nowhere she could find solace except the place where Yuichi was, especially since it had become apparent that nothing right would happen when she was alone or apart from him. She dreaded that he would come back since he did say they would meet again, hence the need for him to stay with her. Meanwhile, the ship moored at the dock finally carried its awaited passenger, the burly merchant who could not hide the smile on his visage along with his retinue. While the crew of the ship commenced removing the wooden incline, Conrad Carlson decided to walk a little around the ship so he could position himself where he could see the three-star hotel. He pulled up the sinful hand of his and deeply took in what scent was left of it. Sweet. Thereafter, the man hungrily licked each of his fingers as he brought fresh to his mind the day he dominated the Felis, of how it felt good inside of her. Months have passed but it was still fresh in his memory. The recollection stirred up his libido, as what was between his legs pitched a tent. He had to admit if he could only forever own her he would --- Oh, that's a good idea. "Hold it," Carlson suddenly turned around to meet the captain and the ship crew. "put back the incline, I want one of my men to go back down for a special assignment." He then shifted his attention to a particular person in his aides, a middle-aged shaven Caucasian who was just a few inches shorter than him. He was sporting denim pants and a teal-colored ribbed tank top. His massive left arm bore a tattoo of a bear paw. "You," said Conrad Carlson, "I want you to bring me a gift --- " Not long after, the tattoed man went down the ship.
In a halting, uncertain voice, Yuichi calmly explained what he had to do despite the overwhelming feelings he felt well deep in his chest. Anabelle’s pleas for him to stay was a gut-wrenching thing no person with half a conscience could ignore, but at the same time, the thought of his hated enemy being so close to him as if goading him to try and make an attempt on his life was an opportunity no sane man seeking revenge would dare miss. To choose between one choice or the other was an impossible task – a catch-22 that admitted no solutions since it was denied by force of circumstance. Certainly, he did it for the beast-kin’s sake as well as his own, but pursuing that mode of action would mean abandoning Anabelle to the whims of fate yet again. The young man gritted his teeth when he tried to force himself into a decision, but nothing in his head amounted to a solid plan of action he would be at ease with. It felt as if both choices required the fighter to sacrifice one, but at the same time, to do so would mean losing out in another equally important facet of his decision. He continued to justify his actions in his head, the pros and cons of each, and what it would entail should the pretty-boy follow his fist or his head. In the end, however, Yuichi knew that given the situation at hand, there were some things that simply needed to be done for the greater good. In the solemnity of the solitude afforded by a lack of people, the brown-haired brawler took the Felin’s hand and slung it over his shoulder to help the Felin support herself. He could feel the weight of her body against his – such a light thing no heavier than any of his training weights, yet held the anguish of an entire world on her shoulders like Atlas himself. As he did in Druuk Island, he chose friendship over vengeance; compassion over hatred – a difficult thing to do that tore him up inside with almost maddening frustration. He had already committed himself into becoming whatever he needed to be to avenge the wrongs done to him and Anabelle, but in the end, Yuichi still held some things more than revenge. The man would have another chance; for now, it was time to escort Anabelle to a nearby couch so she could rest. She was more important than Conrad Carlson, after all; to abandon her in her time of dire need would be like throwing away the very purpose by which he had begun his bloodstained journey. Sure, Yuichi might have been soaking in the gore and resentment of those he had sent to the afterlife, but he was still a man in the guise of a monster, not the other way around. After all, even a werewolf had a human heart that gave it life; so it was, and so it shall be. Humanity came first before being a beast. “Come on, Annie; let us get you seated somewhere warmer than here.”
It brought a relief to the blonde Felis that her pleas were heeded despite the fact that not a single word was spoken. As Yuichi took her arm and slung it over his shoulder, Anabelle understood what he wanted to do and why he would opt for her to have a more comfortable place to stay hence she pushed herself to stand up. It was a hard feat, especially since her legs were too wobbly to cooperate. If not for the young man's aid, it would be impossible to stand up or make small steps without either tumbling or losing her balance. Anabelle took her time making those weak treads in an attempt to reach the left wing of the lobby where red upholstered couches under the yellowish light awaited them. Each was coupled with sobs enveloped by the ache in her heart and the disappointment that despite the training done in Crystal Zalra and the many sunrises and sunsets that had passed she was still as helpless and powerless as before; a scared kitten. After a couple of breathing moments, while traversing the path towards the left wing of the lobby, Anabelle turned to Yuichi with a frown on her face. Her hands were balled up into fists. She bit the walls of her cheek to stop herself from sniveling audibly. Water line puffy and moist as the time they were back in Monokage. "S...Sor...ry," her voice cracked as she apologized for everything that happened --- for her weakness, for the inability to shake her trauma off herself, for being his burden once again and because as she could discern, since Yuichi was here with her instead of working with the NPCs out in the cold, this had derailed the progress of building the haunted mansion. The latter should not happen; they were working on a tight schedule. "I'm... I'm s-sorry..." Concurrently, outside the hotel, the thunderous roars of the ship filled the air. Conrad Carlson gazed at the hotel as the water vehicle moved. "Until you're mine, my sweet Felis."
Yuichi guided his fragile ward onto a nearby couch that fronted the grand lobby which felt empty despite its grand size. He was careful not to pressure the Felin into a normal pace since her trembling body fared no better than a newborn calf just minutes after being birthed into the world. He wondered what other things Carlson took from Anabelle aside from her ability to live comfortably, which only served to further anger the young man who could taste his rage. The fighter struggled to tame the flames of revenge since it was the beast-kin who needed him the most right now, and in his own way, Yuichi did just that. Upon reaching the finely decorated couch, the escort guided the Felin down and sat beside her; their bodies never separating too much to make the blonde cat-lady feel the cold chill of the morning air, but not too close to trigger her worst fears of sexual assault once more. This feeling of comforting someone certainly confused Takeo who merely did the motions in a way he had read those books on proper etiquette and self-improvement. He only hoped he was doing everything he had learned correctly and applied them in a way that reinforced the feeling of safety and comfort he wanted to convey. Friends should be able to do that, or so he had read; to fail in that was to fail as a friend. Takeo did not like to fail. Having noted before that Anabelle desperately clutched onto her chest as if protecting what little shred of dignity she had left, Yuichi slowly reached out for her shaking fingers and entwined his own into hers. They were the hands of a monster who had known nothing but the savagery of training and combat since that fateful day in Druuk Island, but it was the only comfort he could give her to stave of the terror that gripped her entire being – mind, body, and soul – like a vise. Yuichi doubted if his hands that braved countless ordeals were enough to offer to another in friendship, but he put those doubts behind him. They may be dirty, but they were his – a helping hand offered in the time of need. He remembered how it felt when that azure-haired Yladian came to his aid when he was lost; he wanted to convey the feeling of warmth and security he felt from her to the Felin. “No… need to be scared. Carlson will pay in blood for what he had done to you,” he spoke, his words forced to be light despite being tempted to convey the nasty things he would do to Carlson if he had the chance to do so. “Whatever happens, whatever comes your way, I promise you that Conrad Carlson and all those who stand with him will meet a fate suitable for their sin.” Yuichi said in an almost comforting tone beyond the mechanical tone in his voice. “It might not be the words you want to hear right now… but they are the only ones I can give…”
